June 6, 2020Ellen Dostal – Broadway World “May you live in interesting times,” has taken on new meaning in 2020 amid the current world health crisis. No one could have imagined a scenario like this where theater doors would be forced to close indefinitely. And yet, they have. But you can’t dampen the heart of an artistRead More

March 3, 2020Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw In a Rorschach test, an individual is presented with a series of abstract images and asked what they see. Their answers are used by the administering psychiatrist or psychologist to gain insight into that person’s state of mind. Open Fist Theater Company’s current production is titled Rorschach Fest. Presented asRead More

February 27, 2020Erin Conley – On Stage & Screen It all begins with a note on a car and a case of mistaken identity. Found, a musical based on the books and magazines of the same name by Davy Rothbart, opened this past weekend in its west coast premiere at IAMA Theatre Company in Los Angeles. ReadRead More

February 22, 2020Jonas Schwartz – Broadway World After two successful runs in Los Angeles in 2012 and 2014 at the Pantages, that smut-mouthed, but endearing musical comedy The Book Of Mormon has squatted downtown at the Ahmanson, and third time around, it has lost none of its luster, or its smut. Read more… Now running through MarchRead More

February 22, 2020Rob Stevens – Haines His Way A middle-aged couple wake up one morning naked in bed. The woman gently removes his hand from her breast, dons a handy silk robe and is off to the kitchen to make coffee. The man soon follows. Read more… Now running through March 15

February 19, 2020Lovell Estell III — Stage Raw Hamlet The Rock Musical has had a few iterations since it debuted in 1973 with the title Kronberg 1582. It was commissioned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, where it was part of a larger radio program. In 1976, it ran on Broadway for seven shows as Rockabye Hamlet, andRead More

February 19, 2020Terry Morgan - Stage Raw Poverty and homelessness and what to do about them are hardly new matters of concern. King Lear berates his newly-found conscience thus: “Poor naked wretches…how shall your houseless heads and unfed sides…defend you from seasons such as these? O, I have ta’en too little care of this!” Read more… MargaretRead More

Archive for The Snake Can

Kathryn Graf’s paen to the perils of middle-aged dating has a solid premiere under the skillful direction of Steven Robman and a very talented ensemble of actors. Set in the romantic jungle of New York City, Graf’s play focuses on the lives and loves of Harriet (Jane Kaczmarek), widowed with children, Meg (Sharon Sharth) single and cynical but still looking, and Nina (Diane Cary), married but seeking a new path. Read more…

Pauline Adamek – ArtsBeatLA.com

Writer Kathryn Graf (author of late 2011’s hit play Hermetically Sealed) perfectly captures the easy and sparkling conversation between three longtime female friends, the kind that always resumes mid-sentence. Nina (Diane Cary), Harriet (Jane Kaczmarek) and Meg (Sharon Sharth), now middle aged, are all successful in their careers but unlucky in love for different reasons. The trio frequently gets together to drink wine and share war stories and encouragement as widowed Harriet nervously dips her toe into the online dating pool. Read more…

David C. Nichols – L.A. Times

“Being newly single in middle age…. It’s like opening one of those child’s toys where the snake pops out of the can.” So goes The Snake Can at the Odyssey Theatre. Kathryn Graf’s wry, insightful dramedy about three longtime girlfriends and their internecine midlife crises surmounts some post-larval structural blips with pertinence, humor and heart. Read more…

Shirle Gottlieb – Stage Happenings

As our population gets older, playwrights reach out to explore dramatic situations that extend beyond the graven milestone of “the big 4-0″ (our ominous fortieth birthday). Not many years ago, that number denoted entrance into (groan) “middle-age”– which, in turn, was the portal to “senior citizenship.” Read more…